Syringe ampoule



F. E. BROWN SYRINGE AMPOULE April 17, 1951 Filed Aug. 10, 1949 INVENTOR Patented Apr. 17, 1951 SYRINGE AMPOULE Frank E. Brown, Burbank, Calif., assignor to Frederick M. Turnbull, Los. Angeles, Calif.

I Application August 10, 1949, Serial No. 109,430

This invention relates to a structurally and functionally improved ampule for use as part of .a hypodermic syringe assembly.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved ampule in which diluent and medicament may be maintained in sterile condition un-. til it is desired to perform an injection; the creation of the solutionat that time being achieved with minimum effort and expenditure of time.

A further object is that of furnishing ampule structures capable of economical manufacture by quantity production methods and which ampules may be readily charged with diluent and medicament either manually or by machines. I

With these and other objects in mind, reference is had to the attached sheet of drawings illustrating practical embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional side view'of one form of ampule and showing the same in -an initial and charged condition; I

Fig. 2 is a view similar toFig. 1 but illustrat- Claims. (Cl. 128272) ing the initial step in the manipulation of the ampule;

Fig. 3 shows the position which'the parts assume during the final stages of their manipulation;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 44 and in the direction pfthe arrows asindicated inFig. 1i a I v Fig. 5 is a section of anfalternative design; 7

Fig. 6 is asectional side view of a pistonstopper which may be embraced in the assembly if and 7 is a similar view of' a closure stopper which may also be included in that assembly;

In these views the numeral I0 indicates a tubular ampule body preferably formed of glass although other materials might, in certain'instances, be employed. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 one end of the ampule is closed by a piston type stopper H, the opposite end thereof being closed by a stopper 12. Between its ends the ampule body is formed with a pair of axially extending ribs l3. These are clearly shown in Fig. 4, it being understood that a greater or lessernumber of these ribs might be employed if desired. A

partition stopper [4 is mounted within the bore of the ampule and in advance of the ribs l3.

'In this manner compartments l5 and I6 are provided between stoppers II and I4 and I4 and I2. Compartment [5 receives a diluent and compartment I6 the medicament which will'ordinarily be in the form of a dry powder, crystals, tablets, etc., etc. Compartment [5 should be of smaller capacity than compartment l6. In fact,

,with an assembly of the latter type.

2 the central zones of ribs [3 may be to the left of the center of the device as shown in Figs'. 1 to 3. I

Stoppers ll, I2 and M are conveniently formed of rubber and ridged. Obviously where permissible they might be formed of other material. Stopper l4 may be solid. Stopper Il may be provided with an outwardly extending protuber ance IT. This may be screwthreaded for engagement with a correspondingly threaded end of an actuating stem (not shown). If desired, the threads might be eliminated to provide for a slip fit between these parts. Otherwise as shown in Fig. 6 the stopper might be formed with a threaded recess I8 to engage the threaded end of the actuating stem. Stopper [2 may, as-shown in Fig. 7, be formed with a head [9. In any event, it should be provided with a recess 20 or be' otherwise constructed so as to be capable of being readily penetrated by the inner end of a needle.

An ampule of this type may be used with syringes or barrels of various designs. ample, a holder mounting a double pointed needle may be employed as shown in United States Patent to Steuer 1,709,691 of April 16, 1929.. Under 'certain circumstances the ampule, may be employed in connection with a barrel having a thrust or post portion as shown in United States Patent to Hall 1,848,711 of March 8, 1932. However, it,

is contemplated that ordinarily an ampule embodying the present teachings will not be utilised For this reason the operation of the unit will be described in conjunction with the structure of a barrel similar to that of Steuer. In any event an actuator which may take one of numerous difierent forms is preferably employed.

Thus, a physician desiring to use the unit will,

Thereupon he apply an actuator to stopper II. will exert a thrust upon that stopper. Compartment [5 being filled with liquid diluent, it follows that such thrust will be imparted to stopper M which will therefore shift to the right as in Fig. 1 in substantial synchronism with the corresponding movements of stopper ll. vThe length of the by-pass ribs I3 being greater than the width of posite stopper faces. been facilitated by the inclined rib ends.

under continued thrust, will project to displace For ex- 3 the liquid through the ribs l3 into compartment H.

Such movement of the parts has been shown in Fig. 2. When stoppers H and it are moved into contact substantially all of the diluent will have been displaced to the medicament compartment. The ampule should now be agitated so that a proper solution is established within compartment [6. With continued thrust against stopper ll, stopper M will move into this compartment. Prior to such shifting of the parts, the inner pointed cannula end will have pierced stopper l2. Accordingly any air may be vented. Thereupon the needle may be caused to penetrate the epidermis. Continued thrust upon stopper II will cause this stopper as well as [4 to move as a unit in the manner shown in Fig. 3 to expel the solution through the cannula which has pierced stopper l2. The first named stoppers will continue to move until the entire solution has been expelled from compartment It.

Now referring to the alternative form of structure shown in Fig. 5 it is to be understood that an ampule of this type may be used with a holder or barrel having a thrust or post portion. Under proper manipulation ampules of the type heretofore described may be employed with such a barrel. However, the structure shown in Fig. 5 is preferred in this connection.

Thus, in this view the numeral 25 indicates the ampule body preferably formed of glass and having a closed rear end 26. The outer or open end of the ampule is closed by a stopper 2? which is preferably of the piston type and conveniently formed with an inwardly extending recess 28. A stopper 29 is disposed between the ends of the ampule within the bore of the same and provides a partition dividing that bore into compartments 30 and 3!. As illustrated compartment 35 has greater capacity than compartment 30 and stopper 29 has both of its faces recessed to furnish a central diaphragm portion 32.

Between stoppers 21 and 29 a suitable number of inwardly extending ribs '33 are provided. Inward of stopper 29 a similar-number. of ribs 34 are furnished. These ribs are integral with body 25' and in common with the ribs I3 described in connection with Fig. 4, preferably have inclined end portions. Ribs 33 and 34 are disposed in substantially immediate proximity to stopper 29 and have lengths in excess of the widths of stopper 2? and stopper 29. The forward ends of ribs 33 are spaced from stopper 2? a distance substantially equal to or slightly in excess of the width of stopper 21. Diluent is arranged withincompartment and a suitable quantity of dry medicament is disposed in compartment 3|.

In using a unit of this type a suitable actuator is employed to force stopper 2'! inwardly. Due to the fact that compartment 39 is filled with liquid diluent such inward movement of the stopper will cause stopper 29 to simultaneously move in a similar direction. As stopper 29 moves it will ride onto ribs 34 and thus by-pass passages will be furnished through which the liquid may flow into compartment 3|. During this operation of the parts, the ampule should be disposed in a substantially vertical direction. Such com- The ampule may now be agitated so that a suitable solution is provided. The space beyond the inner ends of ribs 34 and the end 26 of the ampule should preferably be in excess of the capacity of compartment 39. Therefore it is apparent that after the solution has been completed, stopper 29 may have shifted to a point where it begins to over-ride the rear ends of ribs 34 while stopper 2! is over-riding the forward ends of these ribs. Due to the elastic nature of these elements they will, of course, be somewhat compressed to present a lesser width than in their normal condition. As the stoppers occupy positions upon the ribs 34, passages by-passing both of these stoppers will be provided. Such passages will permit of a venting of the compressed air.

If now the upper end of the ampule is introduced into a barrel or holder havin a thrust portion it is apparent that upon the parts telescoping this thrust portion will bear against the outer face of stopper 21. The exposed innerend of the cannula or needle extending beyond the post or thrust portion should be relatively long. Therefore, this needle will penetrate both stopper 2'? and the diaphragm 32 of stopper 29. Accordingly, continued telescopic movement. of the ampule with respect to the barrel will first permit any entrapped air to be vented through the bore of the needle. Second, continued movement of the parts will cause stoppers 21 and 29 tc shift as a unit and function as the pistons. With such functioning they will displace the liquid solution within compartment3l through the needle bore so that a hypodermic injection may be achieved in the usual manner. As afore brought out any desired number of ribs may be employed.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention as specifically afore noted are accomplished. 'Obviously numerous changes in construction and rearrangement of the parts might be resortedto without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

I claim:

"1. An ampule including a tubular body, the bore of said body at a zone intermediate its ends being formed with an axially extending rib projecting inwardly within the borerinthe direction of the tube axis, said ribin conjunction with adjacent bore surfaces-providing a by-pass for liquid normally confined withinthe bore and to,

the rear of a resilientstopper as the latteris shifted axially of the bore in the zone of said rib.

2. An ampule including a tubular body, the bore of said body atazone intervening its ends being formed with a longitudinally extending rib pro-. jecting inwardly within the borein the direction of the tube ax is, said rib--in conjunctionwith adjacent bore surfacesproviding a by-pass, a stopper disposed adjacent said rib and providing a partition intermediate the ends of said body, a further stopper adjacentone end of said body and spaced from said first named stopper to furnish a compartment between the same, diluent within said compartment, said diluent flowing through said by-pass as said further stopper is shifted axially of the bore ,to cause similar shifting of said first named stopper in the zone of. said rib and said ampule beyond said rib providing a medicament compartment to receive the diluent flowing through said ,by-pass.

3. An .ampule includinga tubular imperforate body having one closed end portion, an'opposite open end, a construction in its bore intermediate such ends and a substantially uniform cylindrical bore portion inwardly of said open end, a stopper within such bore at a point adjacent'said constriction to provide between said stopper and the closed end portion a medicament compartment, a further stopper within the tube and adjacent the open end thereof to provide a second compartment between it and said first named compartmeint and diluent within said second compartment, whereby when pressure is exerted upon said further stopper such pressure will be transmitted to said first named stopper to shift the same relative to said constriction and permit diluent to enter said medicament compartment. Y

4. An ampule including a tubular imperforate body formed with an integral closed end portion, an opposite open end, a constriction in its bore intermediate such ends and a substantially uniform cylindrical bore portion inwardly of said open end, an imperforate stopper within such bore at a point adj acent'said constriction to provide between said stopper and closedend portion a medicament compartment, a piston type stopper having a recess .in its inner face, said piston-stopper being disposed within the tube and adjacent the openend thereof to provide a second compartment between it and said medicamentcompartment and diluent within said second compartment, whereby when pressure is exerted upon said piston-stopper to shift the same within said cylindrical bore towards said constriction such pressure will be transmitted to said first named stopper to shift the same relative to said constriction and permit diluent to enter said medicament compartment.

5. As an article of manufacture an ampule comprising an imperforate tubular body, an integral closing portion at one end of said body, the opposite end thereof being open and presenting adjacent such end a substantially uniform cylindrical bore portion, an inward extension forming REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,929,616 Vopata Oct. 10, 1933 1,943,120 Kabnick Jan. 9, 1934 2,184,152 Saffir Dec. 19, 1939 2,193,322 Lozier et a1 Mar. 12, 1940 

